This past year has taught us to be flexible, to think on our feet and to learn to shift how we work to meet the needs of clients in an unexpected and dominant sellers’ market. Before we break things down, we want to emphasize that, this past year especially, we’re incredibly grateful for clients who trusted us and vendors who helped us with our investment projects.
THANK YOU!
Highlights in 2020
- 20+ homes closed. We closed 21 transactions this year with a sales volume of $5.7 million dollars! Wow. We are so thankful for the continued support from past clients and from each new client we met this year.
- New investment opportunities. We bought three new investment properties this year and sold two, so we’ve been busy revising our portfolio and renovating those new properties for renters. It will be a continued work in progress in 2021, too.
- Randy returned to his roots in Mechanicsville. Randy had an opportunity to buy and sell several homes in his hometown of Mechanicsville this year. He really enjoyed revisiting his old stomping grounds and giving his expertise on the area.
- Helped folks outside of our close sphere of friends. This was our first year where most of our clients were actually referrals and not friends and family within our sphere of influence. We really enjoyed connecting with a lot of fun (and patient) new people, even during a global pandemic.
We know this wasn’t a year anyone expected, but we were able to push through and still conduct business with great people. We just had to do it with masks and 6 feet apart, of course.
What’s Coming in 2021
Looking forward to 2021, we want to offer some predictions of what we think the year might look like. As a result of COVID-19, we’re seeing a reshuffling and lifestyle changes because people are no longer required to live near their job base; people want to get away from traffic, reasons of density and taxes; the gig economy and Zoom; living at a vacation home; expanding their home office space; and adding pools and other improvements. For the Richmond market, this means that buying competition increases with the outsiders moving here from NYC and Washington, DC. Check out One South’s COVID-19 Market tracker for the latest and greatest data.
When it comes to timing, what used to take months to sell, now takes a week. Additionally, negotiating price is becoming more of a thing of the past (for the foreseeable future). Compared to even just three years ago, the amount of house you can buy is about 18-20% less. The flip side is that for sellers, the good news is that as inventory decreases, home appreciation increases. So it’s a good time to be a homeowner.
If you’re interested in buying or selling in 2021, let’s meet to go into detail about what your needs are and what strategy will best help you to win in this upcoming year.
